Questline mod team recruitment - check it out!

[dannyfx1]

I think we need a story outline to give people a better idea of what 'exactly' it will be about. I know it has Dan Bull is in it but the fact the story is barely a proper outline (storyboard) probably is turning people away. Also, I am a bit confused to what 'exactly' Dan Bull is doing. Is he a new Companion or is he a NPC who can follow you based on when he needs to in the story? And what do you mean 'replace you as the Dragonborn'? Is there going to be competition between you and him in dealing with the dragons? Will NPC's see him as the 'true' Dragonborn?

 

I'll try to answer your questions in the order you asked them. Dan will be an npc and will evolve into a conjurer companion by the end of the questline. At first you have to "save" the guy from a dragon right after he is conjured up because of a messed up spell in the college of winterhold. He would run out of the college because he assumes that he is merely knocked out and having a dream or a weird trip, and attack a dragon head on like a true blue noob :) He would be waving something like a broomstick at the dragon or keep doing destruction spell animations with 0 effect on the dragon, to make the fight look hilarious... you would be given the task to save his ass at first. Later you would be given tasks to help him get attuned to Tamriel's plane of existence, so he can learn enough from the school of conjuration to find his way back to his own realm. It would be pointed out, that he is a fast learner of magic usage, due to the fact that he's originally from a higher, a "parent" plane of existence to that of Tamriel (lightly suggesting, that he is from our reality - tho not getting too deep into that).

 

Because of his origin, the greybeards would demand him to visit them in hopes of gaining a further understanding of entities originating from higher planes of existence - in hopes of gaining further understanding of the nature of dragons and the Voice. They would then meditate for 2 days with Dan to commune with his energies, and in the process both parties would share a portion of each other's knowledge, resulting in Dan learning a few basic shouts (only the first words) and the greybeards gaining further insights as to how and why humanoids are capable of learning the dragon language (the greybeards themselves aren't dragonborn either and it took them a whole lifetime to master merely a few words - although they aren't from a higher plane like Dan's character). They (the greybeards) would clearly state to the player (the dragonborn), that only he is truly capable of learning and flawlessly performing the dragonbane shout, but the dragons see Dan just as much a potential threat to themselves as they see the true dragonborn. Since i don't think i can get a hold of the voice actor for the talkative greybeard guy, i will have the greybeards communicate these developments to the player through letters.

 

NPC-s will see Dan as a weird bard who utilizes conjuration spells to amp up his performance with background music. He might have an apprentice (a local Skyrim bard) who would explain to the player a few things he sees about Dan's character from the viewpoint of a local guy who befriended him.

 

You basically say, that you don't want to get too deep into relation with Our World. I had an idea overnight, that since Dan is a rapper, so it might be nice to expand the story-telling by adding another humorous layer, which would consist from various pop-culture references related to Our World.

[Galacticat42]

Okay, from my critique point of view, this mod is what people say is 'for the kids' from what you've typed out so far. IMHO I think that you should do one of two things to make this flow with the community better. The first option would be to have some other non-real world guy that has all the characteristics you want him to have, the other option would be to make the mod into a parody and just go all out crazy which would abandon all sense of immersion.

 

Come to think of it, you could mix one and two together to make an immersive parody mod. In game everything would be all serious, but to the consumer it would be a barrel of laughs. For example you come across Dan Bull here and on his way has to defeat Cranius, Nyhm, Wierd Al and all those other parody singers who came to take Dan Bull back to their plane.

 

I gotta warn you now that this mod MUST have some dilemma that is different from hack 'n' slash styled escort quests. I can tell you from experience that hack 'n' slash escort quests are rather dull so if you really want this thing taking off then something's gotta give. You also have to make a compelling story to give the player a reason to escort him and don't tell me it's the song; the idea reminds me of one of those old custom made Warcraft 3 battle.net mazes - when you reach the end a picture is flashed on the screen or a noise is made, there is no meat. Your best bet is to let the player have fun during the quest, give him puzzles both visible and vocal. Remember that your best bet is to build up this character Dan Bull while escorting him, make the player love him and want to be around him even though he may just be an NPC quest prop. If the player doesn't feel the tension, then you don't have a big audience. Also, it would be best to slowly expose Dan Bull's character to the player over the course of the quest, it's bad marketing to assume that everyone knows what he does or even who he is.

[ronisaurus]

Okay, from my critique point of view, this mod is what people say is 'for the kids' from what you've typed out so far. IMHO I think that you should do one of two things to make this flow with the community better. The first option would be to have some other non-real world guy that has all the characteristics you want him to have, the other option would be to make the mod into a parody and just go all out crazy which would abandon all sense of immersion.

 

Come to think of it, you could mix one and two together to make an immersive parody mod. In game everything would be all serious, but to the consumer it would be a barrel of laughs. For example you come across Dan Bull here and on his way has to defeat Cranius, Nyhm, Wierd Al and all those other parody singers who came to take Dan Bull back to their plane.

 

I gotta warn you now that this mod MUST have some dilemma that is different from hack 'n' slash styled escort quests. I can tell you from experience that hack 'n' slash escort quests are rather dull so if you really want this thing taking off then something's gotta give. You also have to make a compelling story to give the player a reason to escort him and don't tell me it's the song; the idea reminds me of one of those old custom made Warcraft 3 battle.net mazes - when you reach the end a picture is flashed on the screen or a noise is made, there is no meat. Your best bet is to let the player have fun during the quest, give him puzzles both visible and vocal. Remember that your best bet is to build up this character Dan Bull while escorting him, make the player love him and want to be around him even though he may just be an NPC quest prop. If the player doesn't feel the tension, then you don't have a big audience. Also, it would be best to slowly expose Dan Bull's character to the player over the course of the quest, it's bad marketing to assume that everyone knows what he does or even who he is.

 

About your first option... even tho Dan has agreed to do his own voiceover and could remake his rap to fit the lore, it wouldn't be as kickass as using the words already written as they are (maybe he will change the part where he raps about a "freeroaming sandbox game" ^^ but we haven't discussed that yet). The concept of richly executing a real-fantasy crossover with a hardass critic nature similar to yours Budz is a decent challenge, and that itself gives this project it's beauty. I wouldn't much go for the full-on parody approach, since that would completely wreck the immersion.

 

Played those w3 maps, and no; the content is more important, altho the song at the end would give the questline a pretty awesome closure. I already have 2 puzzles in mind, one of which will involve the player having to make a choice of looking for a solution to a problem in a limited time frame, or fighting Dan's (by then fully developed) conjurer npc. I have an action-puzzle in mind too which would require some rather heavy scripting, so i will see about how possible that is to properly execute.

 

Exposing Dan's figure is planned already and will be done through dialogues with Dan's npc along the storyline and another bard npc which eventually becomes Dan's pal and apprentice in poetry. So he could boil down the conversations he and Dan's npc supposedly have had to a more compressed and consistent form towards the player.

 

I would want this to take up the following tone in the separate parts of the questline:

 

- Initially we would need to make Dan's post-conjuration confusion look hilarious. That could be done in the first dragon battle in the college of winterhold and also the initial dialogue with him. Wielding a broomstick like he means it thinking its an epic staff could be something worth a laugh too :)

 

- Then I would like to have the players feel a sense of immersion as to how this all could be possible. I have a solid explanation for open-minded people while keeping the thing intact to match the TES lore (and we're talking about modding a fantasy game here lol). The dialogues with the conjurer mage could take care of that. He would explain how a cross-over like that could've happened, and how it could be turned around. So the fluffy and childish concept of popping up in a game as a real-life person wanes in contrast to the seriousness of the risks and challenges ahead. That's the dilemma right there, because at first it looks like Dan will be stuck here for good and hes not very pleased with the idea, nor are the dragons or the Thalmor.

 

- The end of the questline would need to make the player feel a sensation closure and of loss when Dan finally manages to portal himself back to the realm he came from, but after some 48 hrs wait you could get a letter from the initial questgiver conjurer dude, that he's figured out a way to "invite" Dan over a 1/day power.

 

Truly thank you for this comment man! It got me thinking of ways to make this thing better. By the time the project starts we'll have plenty of ideas and options to work with if people like you keep commenting the way you did just now. I could use the help of someone like you to keep the story tight with the lore, and help compress the info so it would satisfy immersion fans, yet not blow the plungers with overwhelming yaddayadda. PM me if u wanna help out. We still got plenty of time till the dev kit arrives.

Edited December 7, 2011 by ronisaurus

[RubikNight]

Okay, from my critique point of view, this mod is what people say is 'for the kids' from what you've typed out so far. IMHO I think that you should do one of two things to make this flow with the community better. The first option would be to have some other non-real world guy that has all the characteristics you want him to have, the other option would be to make the mod into a parody and just go all out crazy which would abandon all sense of immersion.

 

Come to think of it, you could mix one and two together to make an immersive parody mod. In game everything would be all serious, but to the consumer it would be a barrel of laughs. For example you come across Dan Bull here and on his way has to defeat Cranius, Nyhm, Wierd Al and all those other parody singers who came to take Dan Bull back to their plane.

 

I gotta warn you now that this mod MUST have some dilemma that is different from hack 'n' slash styled escort quests. I can tell you from experience that hack 'n' slash escort quests are rather dull so if you really want this thing taking off then something's gotta give. You also have to make a compelling story to give the player a reason to escort him and don't tell me it's the song; the idea reminds me of one of those old custom made Warcraft 3 battle.net mazes - when you reach the end a picture is flashed on the screen or a noise is made, there is no meat. Your best bet is to let the player have fun during the quest, give him puzzles both visible and vocal. Remember that your best bet is to build up this character Dan Bull while escorting him, make the player love him and want to be around him even though he may just be an NPC quest prop. If the player doesn't feel the tension, then you don't have a big audience. Also, it would be best to slowly expose Dan Bull's character to the player over the course of the quest, it's bad marketing to assume that everyone knows what he does or even who he is.

Exactly what our thoughts are. The story needs to fleshed out before we start modding. Voice-acting, all the stuff. Otherwise right now, to the community it seems really silly. But we still need people to get involved in the project. The more, the better the mod.

[Ixflashpointxi]

Something I noticed.. Why do the thalmor care? And how do they greybeards know? I would suggest leaving both mentioned parties out unless you have some deep fleshed out reasons floor it. Edited December 7, 2011 by Ixflashpointxi

[Airahn]

You still need a voice actor? I can write my own scripts if needed.

[RubikNight]

<br />

<br />Okay, from my critique point of view, this mod is what people say is 'for the kids' from what you've typed out so far. IMHO I think that you should do one of two things to make this flow with the community better. The first option would be to have some other non-real world guy that has all the characteristics you want him to have, the other option would be to make the mod into a parody and just go all out crazy which would abandon all sense of immersion.<br /><br />Come to think of it, you could mix one and two together to make an immersive parody mod. In game everything would be all serious, but to the consumer it would be a barrel of laughs. For example you come across Dan Bull here and on his way has to defeat Cranius, Nyhm, Wierd Al and all those other parody singers who came to take Dan Bull back to their plane.<br /><br />I gotta warn you now that this mod MUST have some dilemma that is different from hack 'n' slash styled escort quests. I can tell you from experience that hack 'n' slash escort quests are rather dull so if you really want this thing taking off then something's gotta give. You also have to make a compelling story to give the player a reason to escort him and don't tell me it's the song; the idea reminds me of one of those old custom made Warcraft 3 battle.net mazes - when you reach the end a picture is flashed on the screen or a noise is made, there is no meat. Your best bet is to let the player have fun during the quest, give him puzzles both visible and vocal. Remember that your best bet is to build up this character Dan Bull while escorting him, make the player love him and want to be around him even though he may just be an NPC quest prop. If the player doesn't feel the tension, then you don't have a big audience. Also, it would be best to slowly expose Dan Bull's character to the player over the course of the quest, it's bad marketing to assume that everyone knows what he does or even who he is.<br />

<br />Exactly what our thoughts are. The story needs to fleshed out before we start modding. Voice-acting, all the stuff. Otherwise right now, to the community it seems really silly. But we still need people to get involved in the project. The more, the better the mod.<br />

 

Basically we are still at pre-production stage ( gathering all the props ).

 

As a side note :

The whole rap song could be used to accompany closing subtitles, ( as in movies ) as a reward for finishing the mod. Various parts of it ( remixed? ) might be used along the course of the game, for example, when plot twists occur, at critical moments, etc.

This would give the mod a nice distinct feel from a sound/musical perspective.

Actually, we already had this in mind, and this was in the first post.

As for the Graybeards and Thalmor, there are very good reasons why they are involved.

 

Graybeards have gotten word on how Dan was completely unfazed and unhurt by the Dragons attack. As a joke and a way to get more known to Skyrim's lore (Dan himself, not the player) he goes and meditates with them for a 48 (in-game) time period.

 

The Thalmor are the enemy. And I'll ronisaurus take over from here. He's more clear about exactly what were doing then I am :P.

 

 

 

[ronisaurus]

You still need a voice actor? I can write my own scripts if needed.

 

At the moment, the voiceovers seem to be covered, but we could still use some help writing the dialogues and directing the scenes if you're interested ^^

[RubikNight]

Hey roni, I have a few people at my school who are very good at voice acting. I'll try and see if I can get them on board too once I start writing a more clear script. Which begs the question, is Dan Bull writing his own?

[mikaelarp]

I think we need a story outline to give people a better idea of what 'exactly' it will be about. I know it has Dan Bull is in it but the fact the story is barely a proper outline (storyboard) probably is turning people away. Also, I am a bit confused to what 'exactly' Dan Bull is doing. Is he a new Companion or is he a NPC who can follow you based on when he needs to in the story? And what do you mean 'replace you as the Dragonborn'? Is there going to be competition between you and him in dealing with the dragons? Will NPC's see him as the 'true' Dragonborn?

 

I'll try to answer your questions in the order you asked them. Dan will be an npc and will evolve into a conjurer companion by the end of the questline. At first you have to "save" the guy from a dragon right after he is conjured up because of a messed up spell in the college of winterhold. He would run out of the college because he assumes that he is merely knocked out and having a dream or a weird trip, and attack a dragon head on like a true blue noob :) He would be waving something like a broomstick at the dragon or keep doing destruction spell animations with 0 effect on the dragon, to make the fight look hilarious... you would be given the task to save his ass at first. Later you would be given tasks to help him get attuned to Tamriel's plane of existence, so he can learn enough from the school of conjuration to find his way back to his own realm. It would be pointed out, that he is a fast learner of magic usage, due to the fact that he's originally from a higher, a "parent" plane of existence to that of Tamriel (lightly suggesting, that he is from our reality - tho not getting too deep into that).

 

Because of his origin, the greybeards would demand him to visit them in hopes of gaining a further understanding of entities originating from higher planes of existence - in hopes of gaining further understanding of the nature of dragons and the Voice. They would then meditate for 2 days with Dan to commune with his energies, and in the process both parties would share a portion of each other's knowledge, resulting in Dan learning a few basic shouts (only the first words) and the greybeards gaining further insights as to how and why humanoids are capable of learning the dragon language (the greybeards themselves aren't dragonborn either and it took them a whole lifetime to master merely a few words - although they aren't from a higher plane like Dan's character). They (the greybeards) would clearly state to the player (the dragonborn), that only he is truly capable of learning and flawlessly performing the dragonbane shout, but the dragons see Dan just as much a potential threat to themselves as they see the true dragonborn. Since i don't think i can get a hold of the voice actor for the talkative greybeard guy, i will have the greybeards communicate these developments to the player through letters.

 

NPC-s will see Dan as a weird bard who utilizes conjuration spells to amp up his performance with background music. He might have an apprentice (a local Skyrim bard) who would explain to the player a few things he sees about Dan's character from the viewpoint of a local guy who befriended him.

 

 

Great idea so far love it and if u need it i can help with making weps (though not the textures)